Two men from disparate worlds search for what constitutes a meaningful life in a searing portrait of honor and masculinity, sport and celebrity, marriage and parenthood in this ârough, tough, and thoughtfulâ (Phil Mushnick, New York Post) debut from Pulitzer Prize finalist and front-page columnist Mark Di Ionno.
Joe Grudeck is a living legendâa first-ballot Hall of Famer beloved by Boston Red Sox fans who once played for millions under the bright Fenway lights. Now, he finds himself haunted by his own history, searching for connection in a world thatâs alienated his true self beneath his celebrity persona. Soon, heâll step back into the spotlight once more with a very risky Cooperstown acceptance speech that has the power to change everythingâexcept the darkness in his past.
Horace Mueller is a different type altogetherâworking in darkness at a museum blacksmith shop and living in a rundown farmhouse on the outskirts of Cooperstown, New York. He clings to an antiquated lifestyle, fueled by nostalgia for simpler times and a rebellion against the sport-celebrity lifestyle of Cooperstown. His baseball prodigy son, however, veers towards everything Horace has spent his life railing against.
Gods of Wood and Stone is the story of these two menâa timeless, but strikingly singular tale of the responsibilities of manhood and the pitfalls of glory in a painful and exhilarating novel thatâs distinctly American. âDelivered with a fanâs passion, a journalistâs eye for detail, and the unblinking courage of a storyteller, Mark Di Ionno knocks it out of the park with this piercing literary thrillerâ (Bryan Gruley, award-winning author of the Starvation Lake trilogy).